Old Summer Palace Review

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Old Summer Palace

  • Address: Qinghuan Xi Lu, (just northeast of the Summer Palace), Haidian District, Beijing
  • Phone: 010/6255-1488; 010/6254-3673

Fodor's Review:

Once a grand collection of palaces, this complex was the emperor's summer retreat from the 15th century to 1860, when it was looted and blown up by British and French soldiers. The Western-style buildings—patterned after Versailles in France—were added during the Qing Dynasty and designed by Jesuits. Beijing has chosen to preserve the vast ruin as a "monument to China's national humiliation," though the patriotic slogans that were once scrawled on the rubble have now been cleaned off. The palace is now made up of three idyllic parks: Yuanmingyuan (Garden of Perfection and Light) in the west, Wanchunyuan (Garden of 10,000 Springs) in the south, and Changchunyuan (Garden of Everlasting Spring), where the European ruins of marble palaces can be found, in the east. After you explore the ruins, the gardens are great for picnicking, scrambling over rocks, and rowing on the lake.

  • Cost: Park Y10; extra Y15 fee for sites
  • Open: Daily 7-7
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